I’m Back and I Brought Cupcakes

Its spring; a time for rejuvenation, cleansing and welcoming longer days, more sunshine and a new beginning.

If you had told me in January that it would take me till April to finally get back on the bandwagon, I would have scoffed, flapped my hand in a nonchalant way and walked away. Everything just spiralled out of control and by the time I was antsy and jittery; ready to come back and blog, I would look at the blog and think, “I can’t come back to this thing.” By the time I needed a good virtual slap in the face to get out of it, March was already roaring on ahead.

It’s not perfect. Far from it.

I don’t like the design, it’s not the “oomph” I wanted, and I can pick out every tiny detail I need to fix, but you know what?

I don’t care.

I pushed blogging back because I wanted a new design and that was an excuse, pure and simple. The real point is that I’m back. If I have to deal with a half completed design for launch to get my butt back in gear, then that’s what I have to live with.

(Over the next week you will see things change/added/and get fixed.)

To thank everyone who tweeted, emailed or left kind words would be like an academy award speech. Sometimes it’s hard to know how many people read this blog on a daily basis and as every blogger will feel at some point (or multiple points) why do we bother writing? But hearing kind words from people I had never met before was very touching and my thanks goes to each and every one of you.

As my apology I brought you virtual cupcakes.

Spring time for Heather cupcakes with jasmine tea infused into the batter with sweet notes of honey and then topped off with a delicious pink butter cream with hints of rose.

Now I’m warning you, if you aren’t into floral foods and love your cupcakes with chocolate and more chocolate, these aren’t for you. These are special occasion cupcakes, to welcome in the spring; perfect for a baby or bridal shower.

Enjoy!

Side Note – This is my first time baking cupcakes, eek! I’m not a baker, so if you have your all time favourite cupcake base recipe, use that and just add some jasmine tea. Easy peasy!

Jasmine, Honey and Rose Cupcakes

Inspired by tea called Three Wishes by Davids Tea - this cupcake has a vanilla jasmine honey base with an airy pink butter cream with a hint of rose water infused.

Ingredients

½ cup almond milk

2 tbsp jasmine tea, loose

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup almond meal

2/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1 egg

1 tbsp honey

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup butter, room temperature

3½ cups icing sugar

1 tsp rose water

1 tsp beet juice

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and set aside till later.

Pour almond milk and 1 tbsp of loose jasmine tea into a sauce pan, bring to a soft boil turn off heat and let the tea infuse into the milk while it cools to room temperature.

If you have a mortar and pestle, grind the rest of the jasmine tea till fine.

Sift tea out of the almond milk. Whisk together almond milk, honey, vanilla extract, and the egg.

Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and combine until well blended.

Dive the batter between the paper cups. Make sure you don't waste a drop!

Bake the cupcakes for 17 to 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool before frosting.

I found an electric mixer the best to create the icing. Cream the butter till fluffy. Slowly add 1 cup of icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add ½ cup of icing sugar at a time and beat until well incorporated. Add rose water and beet juice to colour and mix until light and fluffy (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add a little more almond milk or sugar if necessary to achive proper consistency. Spread on cooled cupcakes.

These cupcakes are so beautiful!! And the flavours sound so delicate. I think every blogger goes through a little funk from time to time, and it can be hard to motivate yourself to make a comeback, but I must say that you’ve definitely come back in style!

Welcome back! How sweet of you to bring cupcakes! I love using almond meal and almond milk as well. I just bought rosewater bc it comes up fairly often in conversation with a friend, and I was just beginning to brainstorm its possible uses. This looks like a win for the brainstorm list. Kudos for using nature to add some color to the icing. Simply lovely! The site also looks lovely, and I’m excited to see the continued tweaking. Cheers for you!